A year in America
by theunnamedGryffindors2
Summary: Harry and Ron are sent to America for a year to train American Aurors, what happens when they take their families? How will the Weasleys cope with out them for a year? MAJOR FLUFFNESS! T to be safe.
1. Getting the news

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_We wish to invite you and Mr. Ronald Weasley to the United States of America for the course of one year to help aid American Aurors as we attempt to relocate our Auror department to a location closer to the capital. We saw our relocating as an opportunity to modernize our teaching methods, as well as further advance our alliance and friendship with the British Auror Department. Hoping to see you soon,_

Jonathon A. Sterling

_Jonathon A. Sterling_

_Secretary of the United States Auror Department_

Harry Potter had received this letter as well as an interdepartmental memo stating that he was to meet with the Minister to discuss his travel plans as soon as he read the letter. _Gin's going to kill me._ He thought as he made his way to the minister's office. The only comforting thought was that Ron would be going with him which meant he would be dead too, Hermione would kill him.

"Morning Harry. How are you today?"

"I'm fine Anthony, is he ready for me?"

"Go right in, he's been waiting for you along with everyone else there." Anthony said smiling. Anthony Goldstein had been appointed Kingsley's shortly after Kingsley had been appointed permanent minister. Kingsley had wanted people he could trust, so he hired every Dumbledore's Army member that was willing to work for him and put them in decent positions of power. Harry had barely walked through the door before he was attacked. Ginny had flung herself onto him as soon as he walked in.

"Why didn't you tell me you were getting transferred to America?" Ginny asked as she hugged him.

"Gin, let him breathe." Hermione said smiling as Ginny let go of Harry. "Hello Harry, is Ron with you?" Before Harry had time to answer Ron walked in.

"Excellent now that everyone's here, I suppose you all know why." Kingsley said in his deep voice.

"Why were Ron and I picked to go? Do we have to? Only I'd rather not leave my family for a year." Harry said. Kingsley chuckled.

"It's all been arranged, the six of you will be spending the year with an American family with the surname Wolfe. Ironic wouldn't you say Harry? As to why I'm sending you two, well you're my best, and the two of you know a thing or two about training people in the art of defense, if I'm not mistaken." Kingsley smiled knowingly as Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny blushed.

"Excuse me sir but I believe you said the six of us? Who else is going?" Ginny asked.

"Why young Teddy and James of course. I spoke to Andromeda earlier this week about it and she says it would be a wonderful experience for Teddy to go to America for a year, and Teddy seems to be quite excited. As for James, I doubt you would want to leave him with your mother for a year would you? Especially since he should start talking soon, you wouldn't want to miss his first words now would you?" Kingsley smiled as Ginny shook her head.

"No I guess I wouldn't. You're right."

"Now the four of you should go pack, I would suggest you pack the majority of your clothes, oh and you'll need to invest in suits, they don't wear Auror robes or robes in general in America, except for bath robes whatever those are." Kingsley chuckled. "Oh and Harry, Ron, take the week off, your plane leaves in a week and I expect Molly will not let you leave until you absolutely have to get on the plane."

"Thank you sir, I guess we'll owl you when we – no we can't do that, um, how will we let you know when we get there?" Ron asked.

"Don't worry, Jonathon and I have it all worked out between the two of us. Now go. Enjoy your year off from the British ministry." With that the four of them left.

They decided to go to George's shop to see how things were going with Fred II and Angelina, and to also tell him the good news. Then they'd floo to The Burrow to tell Mr. and Mrs. Weasley what had happened and to pick up James. Then they'd pack and buy a suit, or at least Ron and Harry would get a suit.

Diagon Alley was crowded as usual; Harry tried to cover his forehead before anyone could see it was him.

"I hope people don't know me in America. It'll be nice to not have to hide my forehead when I walk down the street." Ron, Hermione, and Ginny just laughed at him and he started smiling as they walked in the shop, which was closed because it was September 1st. George is always closed that day in morning of the start of school and thus, the beginning to another slow business season.

"Oh my God. It's Harry Potter! Look Angie, its Harry Potter! Look Freddie it's your famous uncle Harry Freaking Potter! Oh can I have your autograph Mr. Potter, will you marry me Mr. Potter?" George said smiling. "You're lucky I'm closed today,"

"How come you don't act like that for me George? I'm famous too." Ron whined, but his smile betrayed his real emotions.

"Because you like being famous little brother. Harry doesn't, which makes it easier for me to mess with him. Moving on what's new with you?"

"Actually George we have some big news to share. See Harry and I have been chosen to train American recruits for the American Auror department, in America. Kingsley's shipping us off for a year."

"Subtle Ron." Hermione said shaking her head. George's smile faded, and he slid down into a chair.

"America? For a year? Well what about everyone? James? Teddy? Gin? Hermione? What are we supposed to do if you're in America for a year?"

"Gin, Hermione, James, and Teddy are coming with us. We're telling mum tonight. Want to come see her reaction?" Ron said trying to get a smile back on George's face.

"But how will we talk to you?"

"Oh! I've just thought of something! Hermione, do those DA coins work overseas? I have a brilliant idea to get over the time difference so we know when to call." Harry said suddenly.

"Oh my gosh, why didn't I think of that, all though I think we should use something else then our DA coins. Here we'll use Muggle coins instead. Her I'll just charm them real quick." Hermione pulled out a handful of Muggle coins, and muttered a few words while waving her wand over them. "There these work overseas and they work exactly the same way the old DA coins work. So George when you have some free time to call at the end of the day let us now through the coin and if we can, we'll call you on the phones Harry made everyone get in their houses. He got that international plan remember so we can call you worry free."

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><p><strong>Okay so this is my new story. This is to sort of go along with parts of my other story called Time Less Traveled. Yes I have no life, that doesn't mean updates are going to be every hour that goes with all my stories. I recently lost two of my best friends and I have to deal with that and writing helps, so yes, I'll write a lot, no that doesn't mean you'll get a lot of updates. Thank you and enjoy.<strong>


	2. Arrival and an Embarrassing Kid

"What do you mean you're going to America for a year?" Mrs. Weasley said. At the same time Mr. Weasley said,

"Are you really? So you'll be able to tell me how an airplane stays up, oh this is wonderful, think of all the different things American Muggles might have that we don't even know about. Isn't this wonderful news Molly?" All the Weasleys and Harry shook their heads fondly at Mr. Weasley.

"Now is not the time Arthur. My babies are leaving me to go far away. Farther than Hogwarts and they're taking my grandbabies with them."

"Oh come on mum, it's only for a year, and we'll write and call loads, it'll be like we were never gone, and we'll send everyone loads of stuff." Ron said trying to comfort his mother. Finally his mother calmed down, and everyone went back to their normal business.

The week went by rather quickly for Mrs. Weasley's taste.

"Now have you got everything? Passports, suitcases, clothes, carry-ons, things for Teddy to do, things for James to do?" Mrs. Weasley went on with her list as she walked the six of them to security.

"Yes, we've got everything. We'll miss you, but I promise we'll be home before you know it, it's only a year." Harry said comfortingly. Mrs. Weasley hugged him goodbye then moved on to say goodbye to everyone else. Harry shook everyone's hand and was hugged by all his sister in laws. He promised to tell Mr. Weasley all about American Muggles, he promised all of Ginny's brothers that she would be well looked after, and he told George that he would keep a look out for potential clients so he could grow his business to an international level. After everyone said goodbye it was time for them to get on the plane. They all hugged one last time and boarded. Ron, Ginny, and Teddy seemed pretty impressed with the plane. Harry let Teddy have a window seat and Ginny have the aisle since she didn't want to sit near the window. They put James in the middle seat.

"Let me know if you want to switch sometime during the flight, I'll be right up front with Ron and Hermione." Ginny nodded then helped Teddy with his seat belt and buckled James' seat belt then buckled her own.

"Harry! James needs a bottle! Teddy come here, I'm going to put these in your ears, don't take them out until I tell you to. Understand? It's really important okay?" Teddy nodded then leaned forward so Hermione could put the earplanes in his ears.

"Hermione? What are those?" Ginny asked cautiously.

"They're called Earplanes, the plane is pressurized and when we take off, the sudden change in altitude and pressure causes peoples ears to pop, these slow down the process to stop it from hurting, that's why James needs a bottle, swallowing helps keep them from popping as well. I got some for you and Ron too, would you like a pair?" Hermione said, then she reached in her bag and pulled out a box and handed it to Ginny and Harry handed her a bottle for James. Then Hermione gave Ron his box and told him to put those in his ears before takeoff and to leave them in until she said to. Then the pilot spoke over the P.A.

"Thank you for flying with British Airways, we will be departing from LHR and arrive in BWI the flight should be approximately eight hours and twenty minutes, so fasten your seat belts and enjoy the flight."

"Eight hours did he say eight hours? Blimey Harry that's a long time. Are you sure this thing is safe?" Ron said. Harry chuckled, and whispered to Hermione.

"I hope we hit turbulence just to see his reaction." Hermione had to bite her hand to keep from laughing.

"What's turbulence Harry?"

"I'll tell you if we hit some Ron, don't worry until then, just look out the window and watch as London gets smaller and smaller." Ron nodded and looked out the window.

"Wow Uncle Harry look at all the toy cars and houses, they all look like ants!" Teddy exclaimed brightly. The eight hours passed without any problem, when Teddy got bored he took a nap, James hardly cried at all, Ron just watched the clouds for the most part.

"This is so much better than second year. Remember that Harry?" Ron looked at Harry, suddenly the plane dropped a little. "What was that?" Ron said in a panic.

"Relax Ron; we've just started the descent, that's all. It means we'll be landing soon." The pilot came on the P.A. again.

"Ladies and gentleman, we will most likely be experiencing some turbulence as we make our final descent into the Baltimore Washington area if you would please remain seated and fasten your seatbelts. Harry and Hermione looked over at Ron and smirked. Harry then turned around.

"Ready for a little bit of fun Teddy? The plane might turn into a rollercoaster ride if we get lucky." Teddy smiled hugely. Just then the plane lurched up and down a few times. Ron held on to the arm rests as if his life depended on it. The flight attendant walked over.

"Is he alright?" She asked Harry.

"First time flyer, he's just a bit excitable." She smiled understandingly and then walked back to her seat. Finally they landed.

"Welcome to Baltimore Washington International Airport, enjoy your stay in the U.S. and thank you for flying with British Airways, hope to see you again." The pilot said.

"Alright, that's us, now we are looking for a thing called baggage claim and a man named Alex Wolfe, I think he'll have a sign with him." Harry said as they got off the plane. Harry was holding James' car seat and Ginny was holding Teddy's hand. Hermione was trying to comfort Ron, who didn't enjoy the turbulence much.

"Teddy, you have to keep your hair a normal color and you can't change it while we're surrounded by people. Okay?"

"Okay, Aunt Ginny." Teddy said. Harry smiled; Teddy's hair was black today.

"Hey Uncle Harry, look there's signs for baggage claim. I bet Mr. Alex Wolfe will meet us there." Teddy said pointing at a sign over head. They followed the signs and the other people from their flight and walked through customs with no problem. There in a big space just past security was a man with a little boy and they both had a sign. The little boys sign was colored on in crayon and had "Daddy's friends from England" written on it. The man's sign was typed and professional looking and said "Potter and Weasley family and Teddy Lupin".

"Look Uncle Harry, look he's got a sign and it's got your name and my name on it. Look there's somebody about my age. Can we go see if it's Mr. Alex Wolfe?" Teddy said pointing towards the man. Harry looked skeptical; living through a war will do that to you.

"How about you stay here and I'll go check. How does that sound." Harry said. Teddy nodded.

"Sounds good, go check." Teddy said then stood behind him and gave a little shove as if trying to get Harry to move faster. Harry walked over to the man. He could see that the man was about his age, and had black hair and ice blue eyes, as did the little boy; they were obviously father and son. The little boy saw Harry coming and looked up at his father and pulled on his sleeve. The man bent down and the boy whispered in his ear. The man smiled and nodded and whispered something to the little boy who then smiled.

"Mr. Potter, I presume. Alex Wolfe at your service." The man said sticking out his hand.

"You presume correctly. It's a pleasure to meet you." Harry said quietly, then he glanced over his shoulder and gave his thumbs up to everyone. They started walking over.

"I'm Jacob Alexander Wolfe. But you can call me Jake, everyone else does, except when I'm in trouble then mommy and daddy call me mister." The little boy said all this while bouncing on his heels he then stuck out his hand for Harry to shake. Alex turned a bit red from embarrassment.

"I'm so sorry about him; my wife had to watch her nieces today and didn't get a chance to pick him up from school, which meant I had to. He comes home very energetic, usually he torments the dog outside for an hour or he'll hang out with which ever cousin is at our house but he insisted on coming with me to show everyone the sign he made with his best friend Tony Jr."

"Don't worry about it, my godson's seven and does the same stuff, and my brother-in-law George is older than me and he still acts like he's two. Ah speaking of Teddy. This is Teddy my godson, my wife Ginny, my son James, my brother-in-law Ron, and my sister-in-law Hermione. Everyone this is Alex Wolfe, and his son Jake." Alex shook hands with everyone as did Jake. Jake insisted on walking with Teddy, apparently they got along pretty well.

"You guys sound funny; does everyone in England sound like that?" Jake asked Teddy. Alex was about to say something when Harry stopped him.

"No, some people come from a different area so they sound different. My Uncle Harry's friend Seamus sounds funny 'cause he's from Ireland. You sound funny too; does everyone in America sound like that?"

"No, my Uncle Tony, he's from New York, and he sounds funny. My mommy says he's in the mob whatever that is, but she's just joking." Teddy and Jake kept talking as they walked.

"It's just new for both of them; they have absolutely no clue that what they're saying could be embarrassing." Harry whispered to Alex.

"So Al, where are we going?" Ron asked.

"Off to baggage claim to get your stuff, then we have to find the car, then we have to go to HQ and let Kingsley know that you got here all right, then we'll head home."

"HQ?" Ron asked.

"Headquarters. Don't worry Ron; we'll make sure you speak fluent American by the time you leave. We'll even have you acting American."

"I thought Americans spoke English. Do you mean to tell me that they have a different language?" Ron asked in disbelief.

"No Ron, they just say some things differently here, just like how they have different sports and different music. I don't think they listen to much Celestina Warbeck." Hermione told him, then added to Alex, "At least I don't think so. Am I wrong?"

"Nah you're right. At our house we listen to Muggle music, they got some pretty good stuff too. I'm a fan of Maroon 5 personally; they've got some cool songs. My wife likes lots of different things, but neither of us really like country music, I mean we've got our favorites but as a whole all their songs are the same. Well here we are now what do your bags look like?" Alex said. They had just arrived at baggage claim and were grabbing spots near the carousal.

"They look like trunks, with our initials on them. What else would they look like?" Ron asked confused.

"How did you fit a trunk on a plane? Is it like a car trunk or an elephant trunk?" Jake asked.

"Suitcase Jake, he's talking about a suitcase. Remember the talk we had on the way here? About how sometimes they use different words then we do?" Alex said as he grabbed Ron's trunk.

"Oh right." Jake said. Alex and Harry managed to get Ron's trunk off the carousal and put it on a cart.

"Ah there's Hermione's." They grabbed Hermione's next, followed by Ginny's, Teddy's, James' and finally Harry's.

"Wow you guys got lucky, all your luggage made it. Alright, time to go to HQ. Hey Jake, did you remember where I parked?"

"Yeah, we walk across the sky walk to the top level and then we're by the doors." Alex smiled at the boy and they started walking. They came to an elevator. Jake let Teddy push the button. They walked through the skywalk and through the doors that led to the top level of the parking garage. Alex started to load their trunks in the back of a white van.

"I had to borrow my sister-in-law's van just because it's the biggest car we have, but it's already got car seats for the kids and a base for James' seat room for the suitcases, and all of us. We've actually got a bit of a long ride before we get to D.C. so we'll stop by my house and drop off the trunks and we'll grab a quick bite to eat on our way, but if Sterling asks, your plane was delayed. Alright?" Everyone nodded. "Great. Alright Jake get in your seat and show Teddy how to buckle." Alex said, then he took James from Harry and snapped his car seat into one of the bases on the seats. He then unhooked the other one and put it in the back with the trunks. Then he looked back at the adults.

"So." He said smiling. "Who's calling shotgun?"

"What is calling shotgun?" Ginny asked.

"Ah you guys don't know, all right, shotgun is the passenger's seat. Calling shotgun means you claim the passenger's seat."

"Oh well then I call shotgun." Ron said, than went over to left side of the car.

"Ron hang on, in America the passenger is on the right side." Ron blushed and then walked over to the other side of the car. Alex got in the driver's seat. The radio blasted quite loud, everyone jumped Alex grabbed the volume knob and turned it almost all the way down.

"I don't remember it being that loud when I got out of the car, radio must be faulty, old car like this." Alex muttered to himself.

"No daddy, we were rocking out to Maroon 5 remember? Then I think you accidently hit the volume knob remember?"

"What's Maroon 5?" Teddy asked Jake.

"Daddy's favorite band, he says the song 'she will be loved' reminds him of mommy. He has every word memorized. Don't you daddy?" Alex was turning red again.

"What's with you getting so red, we don't even know what Maroon 5 is or how the song goes." Ron said. Alex's face lit up in realization.

"Oh! That's right you don't know. Hang on, I know I've got it in here with me." Alex started glancing down by the radio.

"It's already in the CD player daddy." Jake said shaking his head. "Maybe mommy's right, you forget lots of stuff. You'd forget your own head wouldn't you?"

"Thank you Jake. And no I wouldn't 'cause my head's attached to me." Alex looked over to see Ron confused. "American thing, the phrase is 'you'd forget your own head if it wasn't attached to you', my wife is quite fond of saying that our morning ritual consist of me kissing the twins and Jake goodbye, kissing her goodbye, walking out the door, getting to the car, turning around and catching the keys just as she throws them at me. Now let me introduce you to Maroon 5." The song finished just as they pulled down a long drive way. The little boy wasn't lying; his dad did know every word to the song. Harry took out a notebook and wrote down the name of the song and band, as well as the phrase he learned earlier.

"Quick question about something you said earlier, what is rocking out to Maroon 5 mean?" Ron asked as Harry wrote in his notebook.

"What are you doing Harry?" Alex said noticing Harry writing.

"Making a list of American things for Arthur. He's my Muggle-loving father-in-law."

"Aw I know all about him, didn't he enchant a car which you stole along with Ron, but it was Ron's idea. Anyway to answer your question Ron, rocking out is hard to explain, but it consists of listening to your favorite music as loud as you can and screaming the words as loud as you can along with the music. It's a lot more fun than it sounds. Oh and before you can ask Harry, I have my ways of knowing things. I'm sure you'll find out eventually." Alex said smiling. Then he turned off the car, and got out. "We're here by the way."

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><p><strong>Well this is the next chapter, I'm not sure if I like where this story's going, it's pretty slow moving but the characters are important for my other story Time Less Traveled, so. Let me know if I get any British details wrong and I'll fix them.<strong>


	3. WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHOT?

**Okay so here's the new chapter. I have decided to start giving out awesome points to people who review with the right answers. So here's how you win awesome points from me, first tell me the PoA reference in this chapter. Then tell me the title AND the artist to both the songs (these are worth a total of two awesome points each as opposed to one.) Then there is a Lion King reference, but it's really, really hard to find. 6 awesome points will be given total for this chapter, and I will give two bonus awesome points to whoever can get ALL the references and songs right first. Scores will be posted with the next update is, but that'll probably be a while, I've got HSA's and finals to start prepping for. I wish you all the best of luck.**

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><p>"Ah looks like Heather's home, wonderful, and oh, well this is rather unexpected, Stacey is here too, oh well the more the merrier. Hey, Jake. Go run inside and tell mom they're here. Oh! Ask her what I did with my stick too!" Alex yelled at his son's retreating back. Just then an eleven year old girl, with dark brown hair that curled at the end, came running outside with a wand in her hand.<p>

"Oh, are you starting school soon?" Hermione asked.

"School started a while ago, it's just the weekend." The girl said.

"What's your favorite lesson?" Ginny asked. The girl smiled.

"Science, just like my Aunt Heather. She uses science to help catch criminals now, sort of like Uncle Alex but not really. Anyway, here's your stick Uncle Alex. Aunt Heather said you forgot it next to your wallet on the table. I've got to go, dad's taking us to go visit Abby."

"Have fun." Alex said waving as the girl got into a green truck. Then he yelled at the driver, "Hey Tim! Tell Abby we said hi! Thank you!" He held his hand up in a wave and then let it swing down as he turned back around to face everyone.

"Why do you call your wand a stick?" Ron asked. Alex smiled.

"Heather's a Muggle. Her family doesn't know everything, I mean they know I'm a wizard, but they didn't want to know all the details, so they don't know all the details. Thus my wand is a stick and we live the Muggle way. Now let us go inside for lunch then we shall go to HQ. Oh and don't worry, not everyone is as strange as I am." Alex said smirking towards Harry, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and Teddy. He started walking towards the front door of the house.

"Hey Heath, I'm home! Oh and I brought company. Hey Stace, Taylor already left with Tim. How come you aren't with them? And where's Heather at?" Alex said noticing that his wife hadn't come to say hello to him yet. Then Stacey, or Stace, as Alex called her, pulled him to the side. She was short. Maybe five foot four. She had the same dark brown hair as the other girl had, and she was incredibly pale, she also had dark brown eyes. They had a whispered conversation that seemed to be pretty animated. Alex was frowning, then he rushed off down the hallway. There was a small awkward pause in which Harry and Ron kept looking towards the hallway.

"Heather literally just got a phone call from the hospital. Their friend Tony, who's also Jake's godfather, has been shot as part of a mission, he's an undercover cop, and apparently, his mission went south. I've met him before, he's an awesome guy but he doesn't know how to duck when it's good for him." Stacey said with a smile. Alex came rushing out, he looked flustered, a nice looking woman with short blond hair and blue eyes followed him. They were having a conversation as they walked around grabbing things. Ron, Harry, Ginny, and Hermione only caught snippets of what they were saying. Teddy had gone off to Jake's room to hang out, and James was sitting in his car seat, in the playpen with two boys about his age, both had dark black hair like their dad and brother, and they both had blue eyes, but one boy's eyes weren't as icy as his father's and was more like his mother's.

"No, you have to take them to HQ, I'll take the boys to see Tony and you can meet us there while they get situated." The woman was saying.

"But he's my best friend, I have to see him and –"

"No, ifs ands or buts, their boss needs to know they got here okay and so do their families, you can come visit while they're with Sterling." The woman had run upstairs and they heard two little boys running down the stairs. Teddy and Jake had returned. The woman then came down with two car seats and ran back up stairs. She came back down with a stroller and a navy blue diaper bag with an airplane, and a camera on it. Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and Harry found this to be an odd combination for a diaper bag. Then she noticed the four visitors, and gave a start.

"I am so sorry, I didn't notice you there. I was wondering why there were two kids in Jakes room. Anyway my name's Heather." She said before walking over to shake hands with everyone.

"Don't worry about it; you seem a little flustered at the moment. I'm sure you're friend, Tony was it, will be fine." Hermione said to her. She gave a small smile.

"You have a lovely home here." Ginny said looking around politely. "I love the paintings on the walls, that one of the little girl is particularly lovely."

"Thanks, my grandmother painted that one of me when I was little." Heather said looking at the painting with a faraway look, not a sad look, but it was still one Ginny recognized, it was the same look Harry had whenever Teddy did something like Remus. A cry broke the two of them out of their trance. Heather looked in the playpen.

"Andy! What's up, huh? You're going to wake your brother." She said picking up the twin with ice blue eyes. The baby instantly stopped crying and started making gurgling noises at his mother. Stacey looked the baby in the eye with a mock stern look on her face.

"Oh yeah? Is that so? Telling mom all about what happened today?" Her face split into a smile, and the baby, Andy, smiled back.

"Alright I gotta head out! See ya!" She then hugged Heather. Then she turned to the visitors. "It was nice meeting you; I suspect we'll be seeing you again soon." Then she waved and walked out the door.

"Would you mind if I held your other little boy?" Hermione asked as Heather walked over to where she had dropped the car seats.

"No, go right ahead." Heather said, then she started to strap Andy into his car seat. Hermione went over to the playpen and picked up the other little boy with dark blue eyes. He smiled at her and started talking in baby talk. Heather looked up and smiled.

"That means he likes you, he's telling you all about himself. His name's Caleb, Caleb Anthony Wolfe. Alex named him, we only had one name picked out and then surprise, we had two kids." Heather said smiling.

"He's adorable, look at him Gin, he's so cute!" Hermione squealed walking over to Ginny. They both started making faces for Caleb to enjoy. Harry and Ron looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

"Women." They muttered at the same time.

"Say Alex, not all of us need to go to HQ do we? I mean maybe, Ginny and I could stay behind and look after the kids, or maybe Teddy and James could go with you, Ron, and Harry, and we could help Heather with the twins and Jake, an injured friend and three young children isn't easy to handle alone, and it would give us a chance to get to know the people we're staying with a little better." Hermione tried to reason. Alex thought about it for a moment, he looked like he need more convincing.

"You know, Sterling likes Tony, remember when he met him that one time, I'm sure if you explained what happened, everything would be alright, if that's really what they want to do I don't mind taking the girls, or the boys really, with me." Heather said as she took Caleb from Hermione and strapped him into the car seat. Alex watched her, then he sighed in defeat.

"Alright, I'll take Ron, Harry, Teddy, and James to Headquarters and then come to the hospital, Ginny and Hermione can help with the twins and Jake. Let me think, I've got a booster in my car, and a base, that leaves room for one more in back and one up front with me. How about you?" Alex said, ignoring Ron's puzzled look at the word booster. Heather caught it though.

"First, for Ron's sake, a booster is a child's seat when they outgrow a car seat, Alex will show you, as that's what Teddy will be using. Let me think, well I think I'll take the Jeep, as that has room for the booster and the two bases, and then if I only fix the one seat, I can fit the stroller in the back as well as someone can sit in the back, and then I have room for one up front with me." Alex nodded in response, as Heather took Caleb from Hermione to strap him in to his car seat. Then Alex left with Harry, Ron, Teddy, and James. "Come on Jake, your with me, we're going to go see Uncle Tony." Jake shook his head.

"I want to stay with Teddy, can he come see Uncle Tony too?"

"Teddy has to go with Harry and then he's going to come see Uncle Tony, but you have to come because Uncle Tony hasn't seen you in a while." Jake frowned.

"Fine, but you should know I don't want to." Heather gave a little chuckle.

"I know you don't, now run upstairs and grab a game or some cards for you and Uncle Tony to play with." Jake smiled and ran upstairs. He came back down with a bag full with 'Uncle Tony' written on it in fabric paint. His mom looked at him confused.

"Uncle Tony and dad made it, it's for when I visit Uncle Tony. I don't know what's in it, but Uncle Tony said that I should always bring it when I go to see him. He said it's real important." He said proudly. He then followed his dad as he went outside. Heather looked like she wanted to say something but she shook her head and let it go.

"Are you sure you want to come to the hospital? I mean it's your first day here, and I'd completely understand if you want to stay and rest." Heather said to Hermione and Ginny. Hermione and Ginny smiled.

"We would love the opportunity to get to know you better, and spend time with your adorable children." Hermione said, she then went to pick up Caleb's car seat.

"Hermione wants a baby, she and Ron are trying but they haven't had much luck, she's obsessed with babies now, she'll be watching one of your twin boys or James most of the time. Personally, it's a nice change, don't get me wrong I love James to death, but it's nice to see something different for a change." Ginny said quietly to Heather. Heather nodded in understanding. They started walking out to the car. Heather put Andy and Caleb into the backseat on their bases each next to a window, after Hermione climbed in as she insisted on sitting next to the twins. Jake sat on his booster seat in the very back, next to the stroller.

"Why do you have a stroller again?" Ginny asked. Heather smiled and turned a bit pink, but it was barely noticeable.

"My sister taught me a trick, when you have two kids close to the same age, you have a stroller so you don't have to carry them both, and you always have a pack of diapers in the car, as well as toys, a few bottles with formula mix in them so you just add water, and at least one binky per child in case you ever forget your diaper bag." She said with a smile.

"That's actually really smart; I'll have to remember that for when we visit Harry's cousin Dudley. He doesn't like magic much, neither does Harry's aunt, but they feel bad about their treatment towards Harry, so they're all trying to make it somewhat better, something Teddy and I hate and I'm sure James will too." Ginny and Hermione laughed. Soon they arrived at the hospital. Heather and Ginny got out. Heather went to the trunk and got the stroller out and had it set up in less than a minute. It was a twin stroller with one seat behind the other. She then opened the door to the back seat and put Andy (who had fallen asleep) in the back seat. Then she moved the car seat so Hermione could get out. Then she went over to the other side to put Caleb (who was wide awake, smiling and laughing) in the front seat. They walked in and to the receptionists' desk. The nurse took one look at who walked in got out a handful of visitor wristbands she wasn't smiling though.

"Hi Heather. He's in room three hundred and ninety-four. Third floor make a left, down the hall, then make a right and you're there." The nurse said as she put the wristbands on their wrists. She gave the last two to Heather to put on the twins wrists, or the stroller so she wouldn't have to fight with them later.

"Is something up Brooke?" Heather asked worriedly.

"Tell your mom I said 'hi' the next time you see her." Was all the nurse said, she still wouldn't smile, and she looked apprehensive, like she was holding something back.

"Will do, thanks Brooke!" Heather said to the nurse over her shoulder as she led the way to the elevators, walking faster than before.

"Does Tony come here often?" Hermione asked cautiously.

"Actually no. Brooke and I go way back, my mom was her 'Florida mom' as she called her, and we've been best friends ever since that chorus trip to Disney World back when I was in my freshman year. She knows Tony too, so I guess she put two and two together."

"Florida mom?" Hermione asked.

"It's kind of a long story, short version is my mom chaperoned her group as we took a field trip down to Disney World in Florida." Heather said with a smile. She pushed the stroller into the elevator, and was followed by Jake, Hermione, and Ginny. Heather was about to push the button, but Jake rushed to hit the three button first; he then shot his mom a crooked smile. Had he been any older he could've had any girl in the world just by giving them that crooked smile. They got off the elevator and walked down the halls until they reached room three hundred and ninety four. A man with dark, wavy hair and dark eyes was lying in the bed asleep, with all sorts of wires hooked up to him and a tube down his throat. There was a steady beeping noise in the room which seemed to be coming from one of the machines.

"Tony!" Heather said, barely a whisper.

"Mommy, why's Uncle Tony got all those wires in him?" Jake asked.

"Uncle Tony's got a boo-boo, the doctors put the wires in him to help him feel better." Heather told the small boy. Hermione and Ginny didn't say anything, they didn't know how you would explain to a small child that their Uncle was shot.

"Jake, stay here with your Uncle Tony and your brothers okay? Don't leave. I'm going to go ask the doctor how Uncle Tony's doing. I'll be right outside the door okay?" Heather said. The little boy nodded and then Heather went across the hall to the nurses' station. Ginny and Hermione watched and noticed her face drain of color and she sat down in the nearest chair. She ran her hand through her hair a few times, as she talked with the nurse, each time she did she would look down at the floor. Alex came rushing down the hall, followed by a man neither woman recognized, both looking scared and worried. Harry came soon after they arrived with James, Teddy, and Ron. Alex and the other man spotted Heather and went over immediately. Heather stood up and said something to the two of them. Alex sunk to the floor and put his head in his hands and the other man just stood there and stared at Heather in shock. Harry and Ron looked around, spotted the girls, and went over to them with the kids in tow.

Ron, Harry, and Teddy's story of the day, starting with their departure:

Alex nodded, than he left with Harry, Ron, James, and Teddy. He helped Teddy buckle, than he put James in the base. Harry sat up front (he had called shot gun and then raced Ron to the car) and Ron sat behind the driver's seat next to Teddy. For the most part the trip was quiet; James and Teddy had fallen asleep quickly. In an obvious attempt to calm his nerves, Alex switched the disk that was in the player with one that had handwriting on it. It said "Bad Day Playlist" on it. A piano started playing and then a man started to sing:

_Where is the moment when needed the most?_

_You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost_

_They tell me your blue skies fade to grey; they tell me your passions gone away_

_And I don't need know carryin' on_

_You stand in the line just to hit a new low_

_You fake up a smile with the coffee to go_

_They tell me your life's been way off line, you falin' to pieces every time_

_And I don't need now carryin' on_

By this point Alex is singing along with the song with a smile, nerves definitely starting to be calmed. Harry and Ron exchanged looks at some of the songs; Alex caught the looks and smiled. He called the one that got the first look "The Safety Dance" he also explained that it was so stupidly funny that it helped on bad days. The second one Ron and Harry exchanged a look on happened to be "Yellow Submarine" as Alex called it. He also explained that the musicians were known users of LSD and they might have been high when they wrote the song. By the time the last song had come on, Alex was defiantly calmed and happy. The last song was interesting, and the second the beat started playing Alex smiled hugely. A drum and keyboard started with a beat that's nice to follow along with, then the words. Ron and Harry started smiling too as Alex sung along, by the second verse they were singing along too.

_Sweet dreams are made of this_

_Who am I to disagree?_

_I travel the world and the seven seas_

_Everybody's lookin' for somethin'_

_Some of them want to use you _

_Some of them want to get used by you_

_Some of them want to abuse you_

_Some of them want to be abused_

Alex was most definitely happy now as they pulled into what appeared to be a very dodgy, abandoned area of D.C.

"Are you sure this is where headquarters is?" Ron asked hesitantly.

"Well yeah, I mean it's not like we can openly display magic now can we? Is the ministry in a fancy building for all of Muggle London to see?" Alex said with a smirk.

"Point taken." Ron said.

"Right, now we have to do this carefully, Ron with Teddy, Harry with James, you walk up to the door and place your right index finger on the word 'enter', say your names, then say 'Alex Wolfe's visitors from England' okay?" Harry and Ron nodded, then got their respective kids and walked in. Alex watched them walk in. Then he started to get nervous. His boss John was a friend of Tony's. He even named his son Tony Jr. (although if you ask him about it, he says it's because his middle name is Anthony and you can't have two Johns running around the house. Tony Jr. is Jake's best friend. Tony, Sterling and I are inseparable when we're together too, but it's alright because Heather gets along fine with his wife Ashleigh, in fact they're best friends. Tony doesn't have a wife or girlfriend or anything like that, he's forever alone, but he still has fun with us. Except now he's been shot. And if he doesn't make it tonight, it can be assumed his carefree days with us are over. Inshort our pal is doomed. _No don't think like that. Come on Alex._ _Time to bite the bullet, face the music, come on Alex you can do this, he's fine._ Alex said trying to boost himself, it didn't work well, and he started to shake with worry and anxiety as he walked in.

"It's about time you showed up Al." Sterling said smiling. He was about Alex's age, so about late twenties, early thirties. He had dark blond hair and it was fluffy, like a golden retriever puppy. It was short though, it barely came to his ears. He had deep brown eyes that got a special twinkle in them whenever he smiled. He had laugh lines on his face, even though he was young, showing how happy he was to just be alive. He also had a dimple on his right side that could only be seen when he smiled. Alex smiled back, a true smile on his face but it didn't reach all the way into his eyes. Sterling must have noticed because his smile faded a little, not noticeably to anyone but the oh-so observant Harry, but he had enough tact not to say anything. Sterling looked back at the visitors from England or the 'foreigners' as he started calling them.

"Welcome to America and the U.S.A.D. or the u-sad as we like to call it here, only because none of us are happy, we don't like to work because we are lazy Americans. I'm just kidding, we actually all love working here, it's rather enjoyable, and everyone here is quite nice, I make sure of that." Sterling smiled, again his smile faded a tad. Harry looked at Alex and noticed his smile was fading fast. _Time to intervene and give them a chance to talk,_ Harry thought.

"Say Mr. Sterling, how do we let Kingsley know that we're here?" He asked.

"Mr. Sterling was my dad; you can call me John, Johnny, Superman, anything really." Alex groaned, apparently this was the common response whenever someone called him Mr. Sterling. Sterling went on as they walked down a hallway; they took the elevator down to the basement turned right walked a ways, made a left, came to big double doors with two finger print stations just as he finished talking.

"Anyway, Kingsley is waiting in the IC office for you to check in, he's got your mother- and father-in-law waiting, oh and George is there too. I've been talking with them for the past hour, Kingsley called the second your plane was scheduled to land. I think Molly had something to do with it." Ron and Harry gave him a strange look when he called Mrs. Weasley Molly. "After talking with the four of them for an hour we got quite close. George is awesome. Just had to point that out." Sterling said then he looked at Alex held up three fingers. Alex nodded and put his hand over one of the scanners, Sterling put his hand over the other. He counted down with his fingers; they put their hands down all the way at the same time.

"Jonathon Anthony Sterling. Head of U.S. Auror Department. Security Clearance – all access. Alexander Nathaniel Wolfe. Deputy Head of U.S. Auror Department. Security Clearance – all access." A computerized voice said and the doors swung open revealing a white room with no windows, and no furniture other than an ovular table in the center and the black office chairs surrounding it. Across from the head chair was a wall with a large computer screen.

"'S up Georgie? D'yeh miss me much?" Sterling said as soon as he walked aiming a peace sign towards George. They were communicating via a high tech conference call over the computer.

"Not as much as you missed me," George said smiling.

"Hey George miss us yet?" Ron asked.

"Aw of course Ickle Ronniekins. Aw and look at little Harriekins. America has not been kind to you. You both look atrocious. However do the two of you manage to have wives?"

"Oh George stop it. Leave your brothers alone. Although speaking of wives, where are Hermione, Ginny, James and Teddy?" Mrs. Weasley asked. Harry and Ron exchanged a quick look, then looked at Alex quickly, who looked like he was about to have a nervous breakdown, he was muttering to himself. From what Harry could see, it was one of the songs from the CD they listened to in the car. They looked at Sterling; he was looking at Alex worriedly.

"Hey. Alex. Why don't you and Sterling go outside for a bit and give us some family time?" Harry looked at Alex, trying to say with his eyes that it'll be okay and tell Sterling. Alex nodded, and then walked out with Sterling. As soon as the door closed, all eyes fell upon Ron and Harry.

"What's going on over there, Sterling's a cool guy, and he was quite happy and energetic and I believe that he's the Fred reincarnate. Alex sounded like a cool guy too." Kingsley asked in his calm deep voice.

"He is, he's just having a bit of a bad day, and Sterling's is about to get a bit worse as well." Ron said.

"Sterling and Alex have this friend named Tony –" Harry started.

"The undercover Muggle police officer?" Mr. Weasley asked. Ron nodded.

"Alex took us to his house to drop off our stuff, and his sister-in-law was there and told him what happened." Ron said.

"What happened?" George asked.

"His mission went south, he's been shot, they don't know how badly." Harry continued.

"Shot?" George asked confused.

"Look at it this way, Alex is you, Sterling is Lee, and Tony is Fred. Okay?" Ron said to George before Harry could say anything. George nodded. "Fred's been hit with the sectumsempra curse but they, you and Lee, don't know where. It could be his ear, but it could be his chest. Make more sense?" George went white; everyone else was silent, until –

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHOT?" They heard Sterling shout, his voice seemed more strained and tense then it had earlier. Everyone in the room flinched; George was still white as he could relate to the pain the two men were feeling. At least when Fred had passed, they knew he was gone, there was no worrying and waiting. In some ways that's better, it makes it easier to move on with life since you weren't sitting around doing nothing but praying for a miracle, depending on where the injury is of course. A chest or head wound is worse than an arm wound. However, if you don't know where it is, then you assume the worst sometimes.

"We're going to sign off soon, but let everyone know we said hello." Kingsley said.

"Hey, Ron, convince Alex to go back to his house before you go visit Tony, there's a bag that has my hand writing on it. It's full of Weasley Wizard Wheezes in it. I snuck it into your trunk when you weren't looking; it might help cheer everyone up. Alright?" George asked.

"Do be careful dears." Mrs. Weasley said.

"Don't forget to learn about American Muggles." Mr. Weasley said. Mrs. Weasley groaned.

"You know dad, Alex is actually married to a Muggle, and all her family are Muggles, they even live like Muggles. We've already started to learn a lot and we haven't been here a whole day yet. Isn't that right Harry?" Ron said smiling at his dad's eager face.

"Yeah, apparently here, lifts are called elevators and jumpers are called sweaters. Trunks are called suitcases, and the pavement is called a sidewalk." Harry said smiling. Mr. Weasley looked like a kid on Christmas morning.

"Americans are weird." George said shaking his head.

"Hey! Watch who you call weird, you have no idea how powerful Americans can be. We've won just about every war we've been in since the start of the country." Sterling said walking in followed by Alex, both wearing faces of mock offense.

"Oh yeah well so has England." George rebutted smiling.

"Not the American Revolution. You were beat by the underdogs; your own colony defeated you. Twice in fact. Once in seventeen seventy-six and again in eighteen twelve." Alex said, he sounded like quite the patriot. Sterling shook his head fondly.

"Alright Uncle Sam give it a rest, you've gone overboard. Again." Sterling said patting Alex on the back. Alex started blushing.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"Anyway, glad to see that you are all here safe and sound, I have a feeling we'll be talking soon. It was nice talking to you again Sterling." Kingsley said. He was about to hit the end button but George stopped him.

"I just got to say something to my little brothers real quick. Ron, Harry, do you understand your mission?" Harry and Ron looked at each other and smiled.

"We solemnly swear that we're up to no good. Operation Padfoot is underway." Harry and Ron said in unison.

"Excellent code name, did you come up with that yourselves?"

"Of course. " They chorused still smiling.

"Excellent, Mischief –" Kingsley cut off the conversation by waving in the background and then hitting the end button.

"Well, I have somewhere to be. So if you would excuse me." Sterling walked out; it looked like he was losing his composure quickly.

"I'm sorry about him, and well me too. The three of us were each other's only family before Sterling and I got married. Tony was disowned by his family when he became a cop; none of them have talked to him since. Sterling lost his mom to cancer when he was young and his dad started drinking, he died a few years after Sterling left home, liver failure. And me, well there's a reason I'm so patriotic. But that's a story for some other time." Alex said sadly. Harry and Ron sort of stopped for a moment, and looked at each other.

"It's a good thing I found the bag earlier and shrunk it, it's in my pocket." Ron said, Harry nodded. They had learned a lot since they arrived, and not just things Americans do.

The car ride passed in silence for the first fifteen minutes. Alex had tried listening to his CD, but it didn't have the same effect as it did earlier.

"So why are you so patriotic Alex? I don't mean to pry, but Ron and I are notorious for sticking our noses where they don't belong." Alex cleared his throat and stared at the road.

"I can do anything I want, be anything I want to be. Plus its home for me. People are willing to risk their lives to protect me and my freedom and allow other people to feel that same freedom." Harry could tell that he was hiding something. There was something about how he said the last sentence that led Harry and Ron to believe that maybe he lost someone to his country. They knew better than to pry too much, they would find out in time.

"So, where did you and your wife meet?" Harry asked, trying to change the subject.

"Back in college, I had already signed up for the Auror Department, but they needed me to take a class on criminal psychology before Sterling could move me into the vice president opening. She just so happened to be in the same class." Alex said, then he chuckled as he remembered something.

"Did you guys hit it off right away, or were you a bit slower like me and Hermione?" Ron asked. Harry started laughing.

"You and Hermione weren't a bit slow, a slug moved faster than you two." He said when he managed to calm down.

"She _hated_ me. Apparently not only was I a complete jacka- um donkey whose sole purpose in life was to disrupt the class any and every way that was annoyingly possible, which it was. I hated that class, the only reasons I went were because I had to and I had a crush on Heather" He said smiling. "But as my crush grew worse, I seemed to find myself in more of her classes and spending more time where ever she was hanging out. So I was also a stalker. If I had a penny, for every time she told me off, I would be a very rich man." He said laughing.

"What's a penny?" Ron asked.

"Right British wizard, um let's see, it's about the same as a knut." Alex said still smiling. Ron nodded. They pulled in to the parking lot then. Immediately the smile started to fade from Alex's face. Sterling pulled in and parked next to them. They all got out and went through the doors and to the receptionist. Alex and Sterling leading the way. The receptionist was a few years older than Alex, she had blonde hair and bright sea green eyes.

"Where is he?" Alex said quickly. As she put a wrist band on his wrist, she then put one on Sterling's wrist, then Harry and Ron's followed by Teddy's. She handed Harry one for James.

"Three ninety four. Make a left, down the hall, then make a right and you're there." She said. The second she finished Alex and Sterling were practically running to the elevator. Harry and Ron had to jog to keep up. Then when the elevator doors opened, they ran. They ran down the hall, whipped around the corners and only slowed down when they got close. Harry and Ron decided to walk, as they had two kids with them. They saw Heather talking to Alex and Sterling, before they noticed Hermione and Ginny standing in a room across from them. Harry and Ron went over to Ginny and Hermione.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked at once.

"They got him near the heart and lung; he's been in surgery for hours and just got out about fifteen minutes ago. Apparently he was, well I don't know what it means but that's what shook those two up but, apparently he was pretty touch-and-go for a while and they just got him to breathe without the tube in his throat a little while ago. The doctors don't even know if he'll make it through the night because of how close the bullet was to the heart and lung. They're keeping him here until they know everything and then if he wakes up, they're keeping him for observation." Ron said quietly so that the kids couldn't hear him but Hermione and Ginny could. Hermione looked horrified.

"What's touch-and-go mean Hermione?" Ron asked.

"It means that he was barely alive, he could've died at any second if something went wrong." She said quietly. The four of them turned back to the door, and saw Heather sitting on the floor with Alex, rubbing his back, trying to comfort him. By the looks of it, Alex had started to cry. Sterling was still standing there in complete shock, then he sat on the ground too, and started shaking his head every few seconds. As if to get the hair out of his eyes, but really he was trying to clear his mind of any bad thought. Nobody really knew what to say to anyone.


End file.
